Polish ambassador in German car theft jam

Marek Prawda made the remark in an interview with Germany daily Markische Oderzeitung, a leading paper in the borderland region of Brandenburg, where car theft is on the rise.

When queried about alleged Polish responsibility for many of the thefts, and whether Polish authorities were concerned about the matter, Prawda implied that this was a question for Germany to deal with.

“This is first and foremost a problem for the country where the car was stolen,” Prawda said.

“You must therefore cope better,” he added.

“Perhaps it is too easy to steal cars in Germany,” he added.

Prawda drew direct comparisons with Poland's internal crackdown on car theft.

“In 1999, 72,000 cars were stolen across the entire country,” he said.

“We always urged the police to work harder, and in 2010, only 16,500 cars were stolen from us,” he enthused.

German weekly Der Spiegel noted that the stereotype of Polish car thieves is still very much alive in Germany.

“Many see the country as little more than an oversized den of car thieves waiting to pounce,” a columnist wrote on Monday, just hours after the interview with the ambassador was published. (nh/pg)